Maori Carving and Weaving

After the Maori welcome and the Poi and Haka are done, we have the chance to visit the rest of the Te Puia Cultural Center.  Initially, Te Puia focused on traditional Maori hand crafts, especially weaving and carving.  Like many cultures that had an oral history tradition, Maori  arts were the primary media for passing on history and beliefs.

We start at the carving school.  The meeting house where we had our initial and unique welcome demonstrates an impressive representation of the ornate carving.

Meeting house above

meeting house carving detail below

Wood Carvings

Some of the images in Maori  carvings are reminiscent of the expressions on warriors‘ Haka faces.  Much of the carving has meaning, but it is not always spiritual--often it relates to lineage.   Usually the peak of the meeting house has a face (like that in the photo above).   Often the head on the outside peak is ‘continued’ with a body carved on the pole below that head, but visible only from the inside. 

above - carving school; 

 below  detail 

One image that appears in many carvings is the Manaia, a beaked figure that resembles a man’s face, or a bird, or maybe a bird-man.  In the carving detail photos above,  you see some of those faces on a completed piece.  It’s possible the Manaia is a messenger between humans and spirits.  That's one interpretation.

There are also different interpretations of the 'Koru'--the spirals or swirls that appear in so much Maori art.  Whatever their meaning, there is no doubt of their importance--we see them in wood carvings, jewelry, and tattoos. They might represent forward movement; some say experience; others say they are a symbol of new life, depicting the young fern ready to unfurl. Sometimes the spirals interlock, perhaps suggesting the strength of  human bonds.

We have a chance to practice carving.... after the feeble attempt you see below,  I feel comfortable saying this is a difficult art to master.  Anyone who’s carved probably knew that. 

the writer trying to carve  

We also visit the weaving school--Te Rito.  Flax (the source for linen) is the main material in Maori weaving.  The school name comes from the word for a young flax shoot--it’s the nascent part of the plant, meant to be left intact because it is essential for future growth.  

Weaving became especially important to the Maori when, as new arrivals, they  needed warmer clothing to suit a colder climate than the weather they had known. Weavers used to create their work on two sticks stuck in the ground, working on threads connected to the sticks or posts.  Now they use a sturdier frame, but the method remains the same.

Weaving school 

Many of the extravagant weavings incorporate kiwi feathers like the the purple and white weaving above, or the elaborate cloak worn by our welcoming guide (see previous post).  

All weaving is labor intensive. The Maori believe it takes such energy and focus, the effort imbues the work with their spirit and values.  This reminds me of Navajo rugs I saw in the US southwest.  The Navajo weaving, like the Maori work, takes so much concentration that the artisan's spirit is in the work.  The Navajo weaver puts a  ‘spirit line’ to the fabric’s edge --a path to keep her spirit from being trapped in the rug.  

A cloak with many feathers,  like that worn by the Maori elder below, is a kahu kiwi, is a valued family treasure and heirloom and often indicates high status.

above Maori Elder in Elaborate kahu kiwi  and carving

If you are interested in more info on Maori wood carving, weaving, and other arts, please visit:   http://www.maori.info/maori_art.htm,  http://boneart.co.nz/meanings.htm,  http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/858/  , http://craftinfo.org.nz ,  or http://www.hetetartspace.co.nz/

#     #     #

Next: Tattoos and Jewelry